Farewell Note From Their Son

The son wrote "how he was flunking out of college and how he couldn't face" his parents "with this failure." Then Dave recalled, "I began to have chest pains; my heart was pounding so hard. It was the worst moment of my life." So immediately, Dave left to find his son.

The worried father tried his best to find his son but he was nowhere to be seen.

"We knew he'd gotten on a bus and we knew that wherever he got off that bus he'd be broke and he'd be homeless," he recounted.

Further, thoughts raced through his mind, "Every thought imaginable of 'How will I find him? What will I do when I get there?' (I felt) Anger at him, but more anger at myself."

"(I was) at times, swinging and hitting the dashboard with my fist. It was terrible. I was falling apart."

Dave's wife Dorinda was also concerned, "I was afraid that someone would hurt him, and that we would never see him again."

Realization Of A Controlling Dad

Later on, the father decided to go to Dayton, Ohio which is a 4-hour drive. Because his son's girlfriend mentioned about him going there.

While he was traveling there, he blamed himself for being a controlling dad to his son.

"My fear was that I would never see my son again, and it was all my fault. I'm the type of parent, that was more of a 'my way or the highway' kind of a parent," he recalled. "I began to think, 'Had I pushed him too hard? How important college is, you have to do well. You have to excel.'"

Prayer From A Stranger

He arrived in Dayton. He stopped at a local diner where he shared his story with a police officer. All of a sudden, a stranger approached him.

"He had tears streaming down his face, and he said, 'Sir,' he said, 'I'm really sorry I overhead your conversation. Can I pray for you?,'" Dave narrated. "And I said, 'Please do.' And he prayed this just amazing prayer over me and over my son that God would move mountains to bring my son home safely."

Dave didn't know Christ nor was he a Christian. But still, he welcomed the stranger's prayer. He remembered how it was "nearly impossible" to find his son. Four days have already passed, and still no word from him.

Calling A Church

They hung up posters at school, talked to his friends, and checked his computer, but not even a trace. The parents felt helpless. Not until Dave made a call to a church in Atlanta.

"A lady named Paige answered the phone. And I began to tell Paige everything about my story. This lady had touched me so deeply, this Christian woman who didn't even know me," he said. "I looked in front of me sitting there on the table and there was a Bible sitting there. And I just held it up to God. And I said, 'God,' I said, 'I want to be just like this lady.' I said, 'I always want to be part of the solution, never part of the problem again.' I said, 'If You'll save my son, I'll serve You for the rest of my life.'"

And several minutes later, the phone rang. Their son David was back in town!

"I cried out to God, and when He answered that prayer I just fell on my knees and I just threw my hands in the air and began to thank God," he said.

"It's a miracle. My son, who was lost, is found. It completely changed my life. It was like from walking in the dark to walking in the light."

Accepting Christ; Controlling Dad No More

On that following Sunday, Dave and Dorinda went to church. Then he recalled, "As soon as he finished his sermon and made an altar call, I literally jumped out of my seat and ran to the altar. I literally dove head-first at the altar and just cried out to God to thank Him for what He had done. Not only bringing my son home safe but what He had done in my life. He had changed me."

Later on, Dave's whole family gave their lives to Christ.

"It was a great restoration in my family. Not only with my son, my wife and I—but even my two stepsons," the no longer controlling Dad said. "He gave me a new heart. I became a new man. And not only that but because I was searching for my son, I never realized that God was always searching for me." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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